John Force, left, and his youngest daughter, Courtney, heading to starting line at Raceway Park on Friday. Photo courtesy of Ron Lewis Photography.

ENGLISHTOWN — Unlike like his daughter, Ashley Force Hood who left the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), John Force does not believe a retirement will be in his cards anytime soon.

Force, who has been in the NHRA for almost 40 years, believes that he is still in the industry to “protect the generation of drivers,” especially after John Force Racing Funny Car driver Eric Medlen passed away after a crash in 2007. Medlen passed in Gainesville, Florida from complications, after his car developed severe tire shake, causing his head to bounce side-to-side off of the roll bars.

“There were a lot of problems with chassis, so we worked with Ford and the engineers to build a better racecar,” Force said about his latest mission. “I know more about a Funny Car than anybody, and if I can help make them better and safer, then the good Lord has a reason to keep me out here.”

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His time out on the road allows him to remain close with two of his four daughters; Brittany, driver of the Castrol Edge Top Fuel Dragster, and Courtney, who drives the Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car.

“I always joke that the NHRA took me away from my family, but now they have given them back to me,” he said about being on the road with his family. “They are with me every week and I love it.”

With his daughters and son-in-law, Robert Hight, on his team, Force has had the privilege of guiding the past two NHRA Rookies of the Year, as well as a former champion, and turning them into competitors in their respective divisions.

Force’s second-youngest daughter and the 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year, Brittany, said that she believe she has the best mentor in the business.

“He has been down every racetrack and he knows how to drive these cars,” said Brittany. “Not just drive them, but everything that comes with the job: doing interviews, working with media, sponsors, all of it. I have the best teacher to help guide me down this path.”

Before he became the coach he is today, his professional career, which started in 1978, took some time for John Force to become a force to be reckoned with in the NHRA. It was not until 1990 that he won his first of 16 career NHRA Funny Car Championships. This includes a run of 10 straight titles from 1993 to 2002 and most recently in 2013.

But, with the exception of a season-opening victory in Pomona, California, the reigning champion has been quiet thus far in 2014. It will be up to him and his team to, as he put it, not “leave his racecar the way it is” if he wishes to catch Hight in the Mello Yello Drag Racing standings and capture a 17th career title.